A Flame Rekindled
by Issania
Summary: Three years after the defeat of Voldemort, both Ginny and Draco are living quite happy and separate lives. However, when Draco saves Ginny from an attacker, they are both reminded of the feelings they once had for each other.
1. Chapter 1

Flame Rekindled by Issania Rated: MT - Mature Themes [Reviews - 0

Summary: Three years after the defeat of Voldemort, both Ginny and Draco are living quite happy and separate lives. However, when Draco saves Ginny from being attacked they are both reminded of the feelings they had once had for each other. As their relationship blossoms, they must stand against friends and family to prove that it is more than just a fleeting romance.  
Categories: Remains of the Day Eternity   
Characters: Draco Malfoy, Ginny Weasley  
Genres: Romance  
Time Period: Post DH  
Warnings: None  
Series: None

**Chapter One.**

It had been three years since the defeat of Voldemort, and Ginny Weasley had just left a Muggle bar to make her way home after a long day at work. A cool autumn breeze swept through the air, sending fallen leaves scattering across the floor in front of her. The street seemed darker than usual, and empty of the usual crowds moving from one bar to the next. An owl hooted eerily in a tree nearby, and Ffeeling a slight sense of unease, Ginny began to walk briskly towards a small street from which she could aApparate home, the music from the bar fading behind her.

Suddenly, she was grabbed and pulled into a side alley, and a hand was placed over her mouth to muffle her cry for help. She struggled against her captor, but stopped when she saw him holding a very long, very sharp knife. Instinctively, she reached to where her wand should have been in her right-hand pocket. However she realised that she had decided to place it in her bag, which was lying on the floor, discarded and far out of her reach.

"The necklace, now!" her attacker snarled, pointing the knife at her in a silent threat.

"Okay, okay, I'll do what you want," Ginny said as calmly as she could, although her voice still wavered slightly. She prayed that someone would hear them and come to her aid. She realized, however, that this was unlikely to happen as the alley was entirely in shadow and the wind rustling through the trees disguised the sound of their low voices. Silently and with shaking hands, she undid the clasp of her necklace and handed it over.

"And your watch!"

"What? This was a gift from my brother!" she cried desperately.

"Don't argue with me lady, just hand it over!"

Ginny tearfully undid the watch and was just about to hand it to the attacker when a voice cried out from the end of the alleyway. "Hey!"

Her mugger jumped at the noise, and when Ginny turned around to face the voice, he snatched the watch out of her hand and took off, running into the night. It was only after the attacker had gone that Ginny allowed her tears to fall. She saw her rescuer making his way towards her, and got a rather large surprise when she saw who it was.

"Oh my god…Draco?"

"Ginny?" When he realised that the woman he had saved was none other than Ginny Weasley, Draco had no hesitation in making his way towards her and taking her into his arms.

"Are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

"No, but he took my necklace and the watch Bill gave me," Ginny replied, stifling a sob. She had adored that watch and had desperately tried to keep it in the best condition; after all, it had been the last thing Bill had given to her before he had been killed in the Great War.

"I'm sorry." He allowed her some time to relieve herself of the terror and fear that had overcome her before speaking. "Where are you going?"

"I was on my way home."

"Don't you live on the other side of town?"

"Yes. But I always walk this way to Apparate, and nothing has ever happened before."

Draco pulled away from her. "Well, you're not going home alone tonight in this state; you can come back with me." He bent over and picked up her bag from the floor, and walked further down the alley, leaving Ginny protesting behind him.

"I can take care of myself Draco, I don't need you to baby-sit me."

His eyes narrowed. "Oh! You can take care of yourself! So that's why you had a knife pointed at your throat!" he saidHis tone was still low, but the words were delivered with the patented Malfoy sarcasm.

"But he's gone now so I really think I'm capable of taking myself home."

"Don't be stupid Weasley, if I leave you here God knows what could happen to you. I've a lot on my conscience already I don't need you adding any more."

"You have a conscience?! I think we should call the Prophet…. That's big news!" She walked up to him and snatched her bag back. "Look, thanks for stopping that guy, but really Draco I'll be fine. I can go home now."

Draco leveled her with a gaze that seemed to stop all her protests.

"No, you can go home tomorrow; I just want to make sure that you're safe. For all we know that man could be planning to attack you again if I leave you alone." He rummaged through his pockets and found his wand before holding out his arm. "For once will you stop arguing and come over here so I can Apparate us both.?"

Cautiously Ginny stepped up towards him and wrapped her arms around his waist. Draco raised his wand, and with a crack, they Apparated straight into his flat.

Ginny glanced around the room that Draco had just taken them to. It was a large room, with dark green walls and laminate flooring. The apartment's front door was to her right, and to her left was the kitchen. The sofas at the far side of the room were coated in emerald green fabric, and the curtains surrounding the oversized windows fell in a wave of soft green velvet.

"Wow. It's very… you."

Draco turned and looked at her, grinning. "Really? I always thought it was too modern to be 'me.'"

"Come on, even the handles on your kitchen cupboards are green!" she replied sarcastically, a glint in her eyes. It surprised Ginny when she realized how comfortable she felt just being around him again, considering she hadn't seen him for months.

"I happen to like the colour." Draco took Ginny's coat from her hands and placed it in a small cupboard to the right of the front door. "Come, I'll show you where you can sleep."

He led her past the kitchen and down a short corridor to a room that followed the theme of the house, except that a lot of the furniture was black rather than green. Ginny could see some clothes poking out of a drawer in the dresser that was slightly ajar. "It's nice to see that you've avoided the Slytherin stereotype," she smirked.

"Well you know me, I'm not one to conform," Draco replied, smirking himself. "Besides, I like black." He gestured to the bed. "You can sleep here; I'll sleep on the sofa."

"Are you sure? I don't mind transfiguring it myself," said Ginny.

"No, it's fine." Draco turned to face Ginny. "Do you want anything, some food or a drink maybe?"

"No, I'm quite tired, I think I'll just crash if that's okay?" Ginny said, placing her handbag on the dresser and conjuring some pyjamas.

"Okay." Draco smiled. "Goodnight then, I'm here if you need me."

"I'm sure I'll be fine." She watched as Draco turned to leave. "Draco?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

He shrugged in response, and grinned in the way that always made her stomach flip, before leaving her alone.

_Ginny stared in confusion at the man standing before her, waving a knife menacingly. "What…how did I get back here?" _

_"Hey lady, just give me the damn watch! He wants it, so I have to get it and if I don't he's going to kill me!" he shouted at her. _

_"What? Who wants it?" Ginny said, stumbling on her words as the one person who terrified her entered her thoughts. _

_"Dear sweet Ginevra. Always the same. When will you learn that you can never escape from me?"_

_The cold, crisp voice came from behind her, and Ginny felt her body freeze to the core. She turned around to face the man walking towards her. He stepped into the light, his red eyes glinting and a smirk upon his lips as he chuckled evilly. "I would hate to have to do to you what I did to your brother." _

_Voldemort stepped to the side, and Ginny glimpsed the sight of a body, her brother's body, blood streaming down his face as she looked into his lifeless eyes for the millionth time since that fateful night three years ago. Tears streaming down her face, Ginny could hear nothing but the blood pounding in her ears. Nothing, that is, until she heard the others coming to get her. _

_POP! _

_Ginny trembled as the second hooded Death Eater made his way towards her, more Apparating en masse, as Ginny faced the army that would kill her. She felt one of them brush her arm. Cold air swept down her back. _

Draco heard whimpering coming from his room so he decided to go see if Ginny was alright. Once in his room, and gazing at Ginny, who was thrashing wildly, her skin shining with perspiration. He tried to ignore the fact that Ginny was in her pyjamas. They were loosely fitted, but the way they slid over her curves was not helping.

"No," Ginny mumbled pleadingly, turning her head in her sleep.

Draco decided to wake her, so he sat beside her on the bed and gently touched her shoulder, "Gin, wake up."

"No!!!" she screamed, her eyes bursting open and she pushed Draco away. He grabbed her hands to stop her from pushing him.

"Ginny, it's okay, it's me."

Ginny looked at him questioningly, the remnants of her dream fading away until she realised it was Draco sitting beside her. She sighed and rubbed her face with her hands. "I'm sorry, I was dreaming."

"I know it seemed like a bad one. What were you dreaming of?"

"Voldemort, what else," she muttered.

Draco felt a wave of sympathy for his old friend. He knew the aftermath of the battle had been particularly hard for her, especially considering the death of her brother. He also knew that the time she was trapped in the Chamber of Secrets still haunted her. He leaned over and pulled her to him in a soft embrace. "It's okay, you're safe here," he said, kissing the top of her head softly.

Ginny smiled and relaxed in his hug. "Thanks."

They slowly parted, Ginny smiling at Draco. He stood from her bed. "Well, I'll leave you to get some sleep then, you've had a rough night," he said and started to make his way from the room.

"Wait!" He turned to face Ginny who was looking down at the covers. "Do you think… would you mind…" she stammered, "would you stay here with me? I don't really want to be alone."

"Um…sure." Draco made his way to the other side of the bed and climbed in. Ginny moved towards him and put her arm across his chest, turning onto her side. She smiled to herself as she realised that it felt like no time had passed at all since their days working for the Order.

Draco lay for a while, listening to her breathing as it got deeper and slower, until he knew she was asleep. He sighed to himself, wondering how on earth he would ever get some rest while he was in the same bed as her. Feeling her lying beside him was bringing back memories that he had long tried to forget. Minutes felt like hours as he lay staring into the blackness of the night until slowly he fell into a deep sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Sunlight beaming through his window onto his face awoke Draco the next morning. He turned, expecting to see Ginny beside him, but was surprised to find that he was alone. He groggily made his way into the kitchen to see if Ginny was there, but the room was empty. Draco felt a pang of uneasiness surge through him at the thought that she had left without telling him, and so decided to make himself a cup of coffee. Maybe it could distract from the heavy feeling that settled in his gut after he found out that she had gone.

He allowed his mind to wander, back to the previous night and how it felt to have Ginny in his arms again, and then scowled at himself for still having strong feelings for her despite not having seen her for almost three years.

The Dark Lord had been furious at Draco when he had been unable to accomplish the order to kill Dumbledore, and so he had had to go into hiding with Snape to survive. He was pursued by other Death Eaters, and had a rather vicious run-in with his Aunt Bellatrix a few weeks later that he barely escaped from. When Snape suggested to Draco that he should approach the Order of the Phoenix, Draco had been completely unwilling to contemplate it. He hated admitting weakness to anyone, least of all a group of people that hated everything his family stood for. But as time went on, it became increasingly clear that he would have to do something if he didn't want to spend the rest of his life on the run from Voldemort.

When he had turned up on the doorstep of 12 Grimmauld Place—gaunt, weak and matted head to toe with dirt and dried blood—the Order members met him with a mixture of shock and scepticism. Everyone except Ginny. He didn't know why she reacted differently than the rest of them. She was still as hostile as her peers, but she seemed to understand what he had been through, what it was like to be so close to the darkness, to feel it seeping into your veins. He supposed it had to do with how she had been victimised by Tom Riddle in the Chamber of Secrets at such a young age, the story of which Draco's father had told him once or twice in an attempt to emphasise the power of the Dark Lord and the weakness of those who do not join him.

Potter had been his usual, paranoid self. He didn't believe that Draco had gone there for any other reason than to launch an attack, which considering Draco had been alone was in his view a very idiotic thought. He hadn't wanted to admit his need to be hidden from the Dark Lord, and so he had made a point of emphasising that they could use him and his information. He would never be a traitor to his family, that much was certain. But Draco knew enough about the Dark Lord's plans to be of some use to the Order, and even Potter wasn't that stupid to not realise it.

Although he had been taken in, he still wasn't accepted. Ginny was the only one who was willing to partner with him on Order duties, and even that had involved a screaming match with Potter and the Weasel where she had told them, in as many words, that she was quite old enough to make a decision of whether she can work with someone or not.

That didn't necessarily mean she liked him, however, or that he liked her. She was still infuriating, stubborn and shabby—with her shockingly ginger hair and plebeian freckles—and at first he had tried to persuade all other Order members that he could work by himself and he didn't need a babysitter. But each protest had been met with a sharp glare from McGonagall, so he had had to give up hope that he would be left on his own.

He had hated the headquarters initially, no least as he was forced to stay in the wretched Black accommodation when he had been used to a much higher standard of living. He found salvation in working his way through the texts in the small library, reading them cover to cover and noting down anything that may be of use to him in the coming weeks. He eventually worked his way to the books in the study, spending many an evening reading by firelight on the sofa that Mrs Weasley had put in there. Ginny often came and joined him, initially because McGonagall had ordered her to, but increasingly he found her to join him of her own accord. It was on these nights together that he and Ginny had progressed to addressing each other on a first-name basis. That had been a shock for the rest of her family, and of course had let to yet another Harry-led warning meeting for Ginny. They had been even less impressed when they had heard him call her "Gin" for the first time.

It had taken him a long time to earn some of the members' trust. Of course, there were many such as Potter and Weasley who never really trusted him or accepted him as one of their own. The one person who had learned to do so eventually was Ginny.

They spent much time together in between errands for the Order and research in preparation for the final battle. Eventually, their companionship grew into a friendship, and Draco's feelings for Ginny transitioned from mere tolerance, to attraction, to full-fledged lust. Whereas before he found her red hair and freckled skin disgusting, the time came when he had memorized her freckles and found each of them cute, and realized that her hair was of an elegant copper shade so very unlike the gaudy orange of her brothers'. Further into their friendship, Draco noticed himself noticing how she flipped her hair and batted her eyelashes, and how, at times, the mere sight of her made his blood run hot and distribute itself unevenly through his anatomy.

He would never have acted on the feelings, mostly because he wanted her to be concentrating on protecting herself in the battle instead of acting like a typical Gryffindor by watching his back, but the night before the war Ginny had reached out to him, and he had been more than happy to oblige. He took another sip of his coffee as he allowed his mind to wander back to the night of their first encounter, and the unexpected circumstances it led to.

_Draco scowled across the table, placing his knife and fork together on his now empty dinner plate. He didn't know how he had managed to eat his dinner when he had been subject to the rather grotesque image of Ron and Hermione's flirtatious antics, which had now ended in a rather passionate kissing session._

"_Seriously Weasel, if you opened your mouth any further, you'd swallow her whole."_

"_Get lost, Malfoy."_

_Draco sniggered to himself before cleaning his utensils and leaving the room. He decided that he could probably get some more reading done if he headed to the study now, and he knew he would have peace and quiet as the Werewolf had gone to visit that shape-shifting, blood traitor cousin of his. He wasn't expecting Ginny Weasley to be sitting by the fire, and by the looks of how she jumped when he opened the door, she wasn't expecting company either._

"_Sorry, I didn't know you were in here," Draco apologised, closing the door and sitting on the sofa beside her. "I had to get away from all the necking."_

_She smirked at him, "Is Ron trying to eat Hermione's face again?"_

"_Actually, I think he's trying to swallow her whole." He noticed that she seemed to be sitting rather stiffly, and he wondered how long she had been sitting there. "So tomorrow's the big day. You nervous?"_

_Ginny sighed. "Shitting myself. I keep trying to prepare myself for what will happen but I just don't know how to. I know we're not all going to make it, but at the same time I can't accept that."_

"_I can understand that." Draco's lip's twisted into a small sneer. "But fortunately for me, everyone seems to hate me and I'm pretty certain that all my other old friends are either dead or soon to be dead by now," he smirked at her and raised an eyebrow pointedly so she knew he wasn't being melodramatic. The last thing he wanted was for her to realise how worried he was about his mother._

"_Not everyone hates you, Draco."_

"_That's true, I know you can't resist me but your brother and Potter certainly do, and I have to say that the feeling is mutual. I bet you never thought that I would be fighting the battle from this side of things."_

_She smiled at him in her usual stunning way. "No, I can honestly say I didn't, but I'm glad that you are."_

_He rolled his eyes at her, "Don't get all sentimental on me now Gin."_

_She giggled. "Don't get me wrong, you're still a wanker for the most part, but you're also the only person who seems to realize that I am a capable witch. Ron and Harry are always hell bent on protecting me. It's irritating."_

"_Well, having been on the receiving end of your magic, I can safely say I have no worries about your power," Draco joked. "I hope the battle goes how we want it to."_

"_I can't even bear to think about tomorrow. The thought that someone I care about might not be here is too unbearable. And the thought that I might not be here is even worse."_

_He hadn't realised that she was so worried that she herself wouldn't make it __through; usually Ginny forgot all about herself and focused on her family. But, he supposed, it was a very different situation that they were in and Merlin knew he had been paranoid about his own death for a few weeks now. "We're ready for the Dark Lord. As ready as we will ever be, I mean." Draco turned to look at Ginny. "Don't predict a failure, predict a victory."_

"_It's not that, it's just…" Ginny paused and sighed. "What exactly have I accomplished with my life? I came here the second I left Hogwarts. I've never been in love, not since my ill-fated romance with Harry, and I've never had a real relationship. I've never done anything impulsive. I've followed my family and friends. Not that I regret anything that I've done, I just wish I'd had more."_

_Draco looked at Ginny as she bowed her head in embarrassment and sadness. She very rarely opened up about how she was feeling, and Draco was surprised she had decided to share it with him. She was the most fiery, passionate woman he had ever met. He wasn't used to being around passionate people, passion had not been one of Narcissa's traits—his mother was terribly strong willed—but seeing Ginny vulnerable was like seeing his mother break down and cry. It was downright odd. In fact, he hated seeing her this vulnerable._

"_Ginny, that's enough. I don't know why you're so worried anyway, all you have to look forward to is a lifetime of Potter and Weasley, and I personally think that's a fate worse than death." He felt Ginny laugh and relax against him. _

"_Thanks, Draco." _

"_No problem." He smiled at her and turned back towards the fire. He felt her eyes still on him. _

"_What?"__ he asked, as he turned to look at her questioningly. Before he knew it though, she had crashed her mouth against his. He should have pushed her off instantly, but all he could feel was the fire the kiss had ignited burning in his veins. He growled deep in his throat and pulled her onto his lap, the moan she responded with sending blood rushing to his groin. _

_Draco's mind went to automatically cataloguing the sensations of the kiss. Ginny's lips were soft and pliant and warm. She tasted of faintly of chocolate. Her hair was soft and silky as he threaded it between his fingers, and her weight on his lap was making him ache with need. It was the most exhilarating experience of his short life and he never wanted it to end, but slowly, he gathered enough sense to pry his mouth from hers. The sight she made was heavenly; her hair was tousled, her lips pink and her chest was heaving from the sheer force of their kissing. _

"_What are you doing Gin?"_

"_Oh, I'm sorry, I thought you'd done this before. I didn't realise I'd need to talk you through it," she smirked at him, almost as if to protect herself from any impending embarrassment. She glanced down at her lap, but not before he saw the emotions in her eyes; the fear for their impending doom, the regret for what she had never had, and raw desire for him—it made him even headier than he already was. "We're going to war tomorrow. I want to know that I spent what may be my last night alive with someone I care about. I don't want to wake up with any more regrets." _

_Draco understood what she was asking him to do. He thought about what it could do to their friendship, and realised that he didn't care. The look on her face and her pleading tone betrayed that she wasn't just asking for something physical, she also wanted him to give her hope that she had something to live for, that he cared about her like she cared about him, and Draco was surprised to find that he wanted it too. "If your family ever find out about this they will kill me."_

"_I don't care."_

"_Charming, Weasley."_

_She scowled and brushed her hair from her face. "Don't start__, Malfoy."_

_He pulled her against him again in a ferocious kiss that sent shivers down his spine and set fire to his blood. This was what he had wanted and needed for so long, but it made perfect sense that it was tonight that it had happened. He could feel her tongue move against his and her fingers running through his hair._

_Her mouth felt wonderfully soft, __and the ache in his body deepened as he heard her moan when he ran his tongue over hers. Draco placed his arm around her waist and moved them until she was lying under him. His hand slipped under her soft white shirt, feeling her silky skin beneath his fingers. He softly grazed his hand down her side to rest on her hip, slowly pushing her against him causing them both to moan. He withdrew his mouth from hers and moved the stray strands of hair away from her face. _

"_Are you sure about this?"__ He asked, eyes not leaving hers._

_A more passionate __kiss was her only response._

_He felt her stir beside him, and he refused to give in to the day. It was only when she leaned and kissed him softly on the lips that he opened his eyes._

_She smiled softly at him. "Hi."_

_Draco sat up and leaned on his elbow before running his hand over his face and yawning quietly. _

"_What time is it?"_

"_Nearly dawn." _

_Draco groaned and laid back down, placing his arm around her waist and pulling her closer. "Not yet."_

_Ginny relaxed in his embrace, but sighed woefully. "You know we have to get up. Do you really want to start the day by facing several angry Weasleys?"_

"_It would be entertaining." He laughed as Ginny playfully slapped him, and then leant in to kiss her. "Before we go anywhere, I wanted to tell you that last night was…"_

"_Pretty incredible."_

"_Well I was going to say complete torture, but I suppose we could go along with what you thought," he smirked. He looked up to see her glaring at him, and sniggered softly to himself. _

_She smacked him playfully on the arm. "Why can't you ever say anything nice?"_

"_Hmm, well, would you rather I told you that I am very glad I got to spend what could be my last night alive with a really hot woman?"_

_She giggled and kissed him again. "That's much better." The sound of footsteps moving towards the bathroom upstairs ruined the relaxing moment. "I guess we have to move," Ginny whispered._

_They sat up and quickly redressed in the previous night's clothing. He watched her run her fingers through her hair, checking it in the mirror before turning to face him again. "So…"_

"_Yeah." They moved towards the doorway. "I'll go out first." Ginny nodded in agreement. He leaned in and quickly kissed her before leaving the room. _

Draco smirked to himself at the thought of that night, and took his mug into the kitchen to clean it before placing it back into the cupboard. He didn't know why she would have left without saying goodbye, so he decided that he would first take a shower, and then he would go to Diagon Alley and persuade Ginny to join him for dinner so that he could find out.

Ginny sighed and pulled another order form towards her as she began to check its content and the amount it would cost. Ginny had been manager of the Diagon Alley branch of Weasley's Wizard Wheezes ever since it had re-opened just after the war, but she still hated doing the paperwork. Usually she avoided it like the plague, but today she needed everything to stop her from thinking about Draco Malfoy.

Ginny sighed again loudly, feeling increasingly irritated with herself. This was completely and utterly insane. She had not seen Draco properly for almost three years before the previous night, except for one occasion not long after the War when he had come into her place of work, yet her body still reacted to him like no time had passed at all. When she had woken up this morning to find Draco's arms around her with her head resting on his chiselled chest, it had taken a very long cold shower to relax her. She had needed long enough to get over her feelings for him all those years ago and even more months to get his face and voice out of her head.

The night they had spent together before the war began had been incredible, and Ginny knew they had both wanted more, but Draco had needed to leave. He had tried to explain to her that he was trying to escape the aftermath of the war, that it was possible that some of the Death Eaters could have survived and it was no longer safe for him to stay in one place but Ginny hadn't accepted that. As far as she had been concerned, he was deserting her at one of the most difficult times that she had ever faced in her life. Of course in hindsight, she realised that it wouldn't have helped her if he had wound up dead too.

Ginny hadn't realised just how strong her feelings for Draco were until the night before they went to war. She knew that she had a crush on him, after all, he was devilishly handsome and she had to spend a lot of time with him when working on assignments for the Order. But she had always believed it to be one-sided, and something that she would need to get over. That night, however, she had seen in his eyes that he felt the same way about her, and Ginny had been completely taken aback. It was as she was sitting there, staring into the fire with his arms wrapped around her that she realised she needed to stop holding herself back, and if there was any time to take a risk it was the night before her impending doom. So she had kissed him, and thankfully he had kissed her back with just as much fervour, and it had ended up being the most exciting and passionate experience of her life.

Ginny sighed again and checked the clock on her desk. Half past four. "I can't be bothered with this right now," she muttered to herself, closing the file she had been reading. Fred and George wouldn't mind if she closed the branch early, and it's not like she had been able to concentrate on much anyway. Ginny stood and put the file away before grabbing her cloak. She would make her way home, have a cup of tea and try to find something to do that would help her forget all about Draco and the way his arms had felt around her that morning when she had woken up.

She had just locked the door to her office at the back of the store when she heard the door open. "I'm sorry, we're closed now," she called out, hoping the customer would leave and come back another day.

"Good, that means you can come with me."

Ginny sighed and with a look of irritation, turned to meet Draco, who was leaning casually against one of the counters, grinning.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three.**

"Draco, what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to ask you to come out to dinner with me," Draco replied, one eyebrow pointedly raised.

"Why?" she asked, scowling as she closed the store's shutters with a wave of her wand, and checked to make sure the shop assistant, Lucy, had locked everything away when she had gone home earlier.

"What do you mean 'why'?" he remarked sarcastically. "Because I think it would be an enjoyable evening, you know, an opportunity to catch up."

"Well, thanks for the offer, but I think I'm just going to go home," Ginny replied. She didn't know whether she would be able to sit with him at a table and pretend that she didn't still have feelings for him and that, given the opportunity, she would want much more.

Draco sighed to himself. She was too damn stubborn! "Ginny, would you just agree to come? I'm not going to kill you, it's just dinner."

"Are you sure dinner with you won't kill me?" Ginny scowled at him. "Why can't you just leave me be?"

"Because it is my life's aim to antagonise you." Draco smirked at her.

Ginny sighed and rolled her eyes, realising that he was never going to take no for an answer. "Fine." She opened the front door to the store and gestured for him to leave, locking the door and the shutters behind them. "I need to go home first, I don't want to go anywhere in these clothes."

He took a moment to examine her outfit; her shabby dress and dowdy shoes were not suitable attire for and evening out with him. "Okay, we can stop off at yours so you can change."

Ginny raised an eyebrow at him. "What was that look about? So I don't meet your standards? And what do you mean 'we', why do you have to come?"

He looked into her eyes and grinned, thinking this the best way to avoid the dangerous direction that this conversation was heading. "For two reasons: a) I want to see where you live, and b) I'm planning on taking you to a nice place so I think that means I get to tag along."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine, but I have to warn you, I live with Hermione and on the off chance that she's there, you have to be nice." She paused and smirked at him. "Or maybe you should just aim for civil."

Draco rolled his eyes at her. "I'll do my best."

Ginny rummaged through her bag to find her wand. "Come on then." She tried to ignore the feeling of having Draco's body close to hers and the sensation of his hand around her waist. Pushing the thoughts firmly from her mind, she Apparated them to her apartment.

When they arrived, Draco was surprised to find that her apartment didn't look overtly magical. The room was very light and modern with magnolia walls and wooden floors. He could see a refrigerator in the far corner of the kitchen to his left, and in front of him was a television with some sofas facing towards it.

"Wait here and I'll go and get changed." Ginny walked as quickly as she could into her bedroom and closed the door after her. Sighing, she walked to her wardrobe and opened it, trying to think of something she could wear. She didn't know how she was going to get through this evening without saying something she would regret, as she still felt resentment towards him for how he left her instead of staying and being with her.

She rummaged through her robes until she came across a deep green set that she had bought in a sale and never worn. "At least he won't complain about the green," she muttered.

Draco meanwhile was using the opportunity to look around the apartment. He noticed there were lots of photographs of the various Weasleys, and he sneered at one of Ginny and Ron. Hermione didn't seem to have as many as Ginny, but then he supposed she didn't have any where near the same sized family. Draco smirked to himself when he found a photograph on a small shelf in the lounge area of Hermione and Ginny on a sunny beach wearing only bikinis.

The apartment was light and airy, almost opposite to the atmosphere he had created in his flat. He didn't know why someone would want to live somewhere that was so bright. This place was far too cheerful for his liking. He heard Ginny's door open and he turned to greet her, almost dropping his jaw in surprise when he saw her. She was wearing robes of a deep emerald green that brought out her eyes, and she had charmed her hair so it fell in soft curls down her back.

He realised that he was almost staring, and cleared his throat. "Shall we go?"

"Where are you taking me?" Ginny asked, taking out her wand to Apparate.

"It's a place near Diagon Alley, it's not too far. If you Apparate outside Madame Malkin's, we can walk from there." He spun around and, with a small CRACK, he was gone.

Ginny sighed to herself, running her hand nervously through her hair before following.

The restaurant was on a narrow, cobbled street that felt secluded from the rest of London. It was very quiet, filled with couples quietly eating the delicious French cuisine it offered. A small wizard sat playing a guitar in the far corner of the restaurant, which helped to create a much more upscale atmosphere than Ginny was used to.

As they ate their meals, Draco tried to stop staring at Ginny. He didn't want her to catch him looking; he thought it would make him look far too weak. He was relieved that his plan to use the Gryffindor tactic of sheer bullheadedness had managed to get her to come out with him. He felt that they needed to spend some time together to end any bad feelings there were between the two of them. He knew that she had been hurt when he had needed to leave, and he was planning to give himself a chance to make up for that. That included, he acknowledged with much dread, showing an interest in her family and friends.

"So, what does Granger do nowadays?"

Surprised, Ginny stopped eating. "Do you really want to know about Hermione?"

"Not really, but, you know… I've been away a while." He shrugged and took a sip from his glass of red wine.

"She teaches Arithmancy at Hogwarts," Ginny replied.

"Who'd have thought she would end up teaching," Draco said sarcastically.

Ginny smiled. "She's very good. McGonagall really enjoys having her teach there. It's good for me too, because I get the apartment to myself a lot."

"So, is she teaching at the moment?"

"No, she and Ron are spending the week together at his place because he has annual leave at the moment. I heard her say something the other day about them going to a show, but I was late for work and wasn't really listening."

"Annual leave?"

Ginny nodded. "He's an Auror now. I thought you knew that?"

"I knew Potter was, I didn't realise he was one too." Draco looked into her eyes, one eyebrow raised. "So she's still with Weasley then? Here I was hoping she'd have killed him by now."

Ginny laughed. "I'm surprised she hasn't. They're practically engaged actually, I think Ron's going to propose at Christmas."

"Have you warned her?" Draco joked, smirking at her.

Ginny rolled her eyes, and decided to divert the conversation away from her friends and family. "So, what did you do when you were gone?" she asked.

"Mostly I travelled. I tried not to stay in one place for too long, so I went to a few places in Spain and then a couple of places in Asia."

"Wow, that must have been amazing."

"It was good to see all those different places, but mostly it was hard work, and I couldn't exactly live in what I would call 'suitable conditions'. I even had to stay in a hostel at one point, which was not pleasant!" Draco turned his nose up at the memory, relieved that it was finally safe for him to stay here.

Ginny giggled. "I can't believe you stayed in a hostel."

"My parents were probably turning in their graves." He smirked to himself. "What have you been doing?"

"Initially I stayed and looked after my parents, you know, helped them deal with Bill's death. But then Fleur left and went back to her family in France, so I decided to do a year at my brothers' store in Diagon Alley, and three years later I'm still there." Ginny took a sip from her glass of white wine. She felt unbelievably tense from the effort of making polite conversation without either of them grazing on deeper issues. "Are you planning on staying here permanently now?"

Draco nodded. "Yes, for the time being, but I was thinking of applying for the job to teach Potions at Hogwarts." He frowned as Ginny burst out laughing. "What's so funny, do you think I wouldn't be very good at it?"

She shook her head. "No, it's just… are you sure you want to go into teaching?"

Draco paused pensively. "Well I don't want to work with all the pompous twats at the Ministry, and I certainly couldn't work with Potter, or your brother, for that matter. And I was the best at Potions when I was there." Draco watched Ginny as she drained the last of the wine from her glass, and signalled to a waiter that he wanted to pay their bill. He motioned to her that they should get up and leave.

They started to make their way towards the main road, walking down the long, cobbled street. The moon was beginning to peek out from behind a cloud, basking them both in its eerie glow. A cool breeze swept through the air. Ginny felt the quiet of the night drain all the tension from her body. They Apparated back to her apartment, so that he could see her home before he left.

Ginny stood awkwardly, not really knowing what to say to him. "Thank you for dinner," she said simply, smiling softly at him.

Draco relaxed a little as it seemed that Ginny was in a better mood with him than she had been earlier. "Well, I hope I've made up a little for what happened." Draco grinned at her.

Ginny felt the anger from all those years ago re-ignite in her veins. "One dinner. You think one dinner is going to make everything okay again?" Ginny ground out, walking back towards him to lean against her dining table as she watched his arrogant grin slip into the familiar sneer.

"What is wrong with you?" he sneered, immediately becoming defensive towards her anger.

"I don't understand how you think you can just waltz back in and act like nothing's happened!" Ginny shouted, her eyes flashing furiously as she cursed herself for losing her composure. "You were there last night and you helped me, I'm grateful for that, but you can't just act like this. It was too hard back then. I don't think I could do it again!"

"Do what again?" Draco asked. "What are you talking about?"

"You left me!" Ginny exclaimed, her voice almost breaking with anger. "You slept with me, and then you just left. Don't you know what that did to me?"

"Don't you think it was hard for me, too?" Draco sneered. "Do you think I wanted to leave? Because believe me, there were a lot of things I wanted to do back then, but leaving wasn't one of them!"

"And yet no contact, no letters. Nothing except that day when you turned up at work. The only way I knew you were still alive was because I felt sure it would be in the papers," Ginny said, her voice low and menacing.

Draco felt a pang of guilt settle in the pit of his stomach. "I'm sorry. I was trying to stay hidden, stop people from finding me."

"I don't want to hear any more excuses, Draco," Ginny stated, her anger cooling with the realisation that she wasn't just angry with him for leaving, she was angry that he seemed to maintain all composure when around her, as if that night three years ago had meant nothing to him. She was even more frustrated that being around him dragged up everything she had felt at the time, and believed she had long put behind her. "How can you be so blasé about everything, Draco? Don't you find it difficult to be around me?"

Draco stood looking at her, taking in the way her cheeks were flushed with anger, the way her hair tumbled in soft curls to frame her face, her beautiful brown eyes, the way the green robes she was wearing somehow managed to accentuate every curve in her body. Yes, he did find it difficult. It was excruciating to be so near to her and not take her in his arms, to see her soft, pink lips and not cover them with his own. It was too hard to bear.

"I'm sorry that I left. I'm sorry that I hurt you. I didn't know what to do! I was afraid for my life." His voice was low and regretful, and he sighed while running his hand through his silvery hair. "I've wondered many times whether I made the right decision, and I still don't know."

"You should have talked to me!" Ginny exclaimed. "You should have included me in your decision instead of shutting me out! Instead you did what everyone else did and still does – you made the decision, and I had to live with the consequences."

"God, do you have to be so irritating?" Draco cried, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "This wasn't about you being sidelined, this was about me surviving! Do you know what they would have done to me if they found me? Because I do, I've seen it. And there you are, standing there, blaming it all on me, making ME out to be the bad guy!"

Ginny looked as though she had been slapped in the face. "You're the one who left!"

Draco nodded. "Yes, I did. I left. Do you know what that was like?" He interrupted her before she could answer. "You might think you do, but you don't. You still had your bloody family, I was alone. I left the one person I cared about behind, you still had yours around you."

Ginny was silent, watching him closely. An odd sense of relief had washed over her when he had confessed that he had truly cared about her. After he had left, the one thought that kept haunting her was that he had never cared for her at all, and that somehow she had misinterpreted everything that had happened the night before the war. The thought that he had experienced the range of emotions that she had, probably worse, as he had nothing to distract him from the pain he was going through, saddened her more than anything.

"I'm sorry, I never thought of how it was for you. I always assumed that you had been fine."

"Well I wasn't," Draco muttered, looking at the floor. He hated admitting his emotions to anyone, especially Ginny. He didn't like looking vulnerable; it was not a trait Malfoys were deemed to have. He had never told her the true depth of his feelings, and he didn't know if he ever would be able to tell her. All he knew was that the day he had left had been the hardest day of his life. Without her, leaving would have been easy. His parents were both dead, he didn't have any family members that he cared about, and he wouldn't have batted en eyelash if Potter and his groupies had been wiped out. It was only her. Even today, she was the only person he cared about. He was so deep in thought that he barely noticed that she had walked over to stand in front of him and had placed a hand on each arm.

Ginny didn't know what she was doing. She didn't know whether to hit him or kiss him, and her body seemed to be having the same argument with her brain. All she did know was that she no longer felt angry with him. She still felt he should have talked to her about it, and they should have decided together, but she no longer felt like he had simply cast her aside. From what she could see in Draco's eyes, and from the emotions that had played across his face while she had been staring at him, he deeply cared about her.

She watched his eyes widen with surprise when he realised she was standing in front of him, and his brow crease when he began to question why. She watched his eyes drift to her lips as she stood on her toes and pressed her lips against his.

The kiss only lasted a few seconds, and, when she pulled away, she noticed that Draco looked fairly surprised. Her brain was telling her that she shouldn't be doing this, that it was too soon and she was going to get hurt again. Her heart, however, reminded her that they had already lost three years together and there was no need for them to lose any more time. Her heart was beating twice as fast, her pulse quickened just being around him, and she felt sure that he could feel the heat radiating from her body.

Draco leant forward and re-captured her lips with his, more forcefully than he had before. His hands slid down to undo the front of her robe, before running them around her waist.

With a sigh, Ginny slid her hands up the front of his shirt and into his soft hair before looping them around his neck to pull herself even closer to him. She felt him moving them both backwards until her back hit her dining table. She moved her mouth to his ear and grazed her teeth across his lobe, relishing the gasp the action tore from his lips.

Her touch was like fire. It awakened every inch of his body with its heat and filled him with overwhelming desire. Draco leant forward and kissed her forcefully again, and she responded by wrapping her legs around his waist. He slowly lifted her, still maintaining the contact between their lips, and carried her into her bedroom.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four.**

It had been six weeks since Draco had rescued Ginny in the alleyway, and they had spent practically every day together. He had met her from work and taken her to dinner, she had read him the letter containing the invitation for the interview for the Potions position at Hogwarts, and subsequently helped him to practise for it. She had even attempted to introduce him to one of the many Muggle programmes that she watched on the television, which had provoked one of the fiercest sneers she had ever seen.

Of course, the fact it was going well didn't necessarily mean that they didn't argue. He was still one of the most selfish people that she knew, and was oddly opposed to spending the night at her apartment. She supposed it was because he didn't want to risk bumping into Ron one day on the way to the bathroom. Maybe more so due to the risk of seeing him any less than fully-clothed than the risk of physical injury that he would be under when Ron found out that Draco was sleeping with his little sister.

When Ginny awoke one Saturday in mid-December, she anticipated it to be a normal day. She lay in bed watching Draco sleep, smiling to herself at his ability to sneer in his dreams, and wondering what she could do with her time.

"Could you please stop staring at me when I'm trying to sleep?" Draco mumbled, causing Ginny to jump violently.

"I'm sorry, you just look so angelic," she teased, smiling widely when she saw him open his eyes and turn to look at her.

Draco raised an eyebrow. "Really? Well, I think I'll have to change that." He pounced suddenly so that she had no time to move, rolling them over and pinning her underneath.

He kissed her softly, savouring the feeling of her beneath him. He thought that he never felt so relaxed and alive at the same time as when he was with her. "You know, I think I could get used to having you around."

"How charming," Ginny said, smirking up at him.

"I mean it," Draco replied. "But, you know I don't share."

"And what does that mean?"

"It means," Draco began, sucking softly at the base of her neck, "that unless you'd rather be with someone else, you're mine now."

"Hmm, well maybe that would be okay. I'll just have to let my other boyfriends know," Ginny joked, smiling when he nipped her collar bone in response.

"Very amusing, Weasley." He had just begun to trail a burning path of kisses down her neck, when Ginny heard the last voice she expected to hear float into her bedroom.

"Ginny? Where are you dear?"

Ginny sat bolt up in bed, the movement of which caused Draco to jump away from her. "Oh my God."

"What is it?" Draco asked, staring intently at the woman who had just sent him flying away from her, and rubbing his hands across his face to waken himself up.

"Ginny?"

Draco stopped rubbing his eyes and turned to look at Ginny. "Please tell me that's not your mother."

"Unfortunately I can't." Ginny rolled out of bed, grabbed her clothes from the floor and put them on as quickly as possible. All was going well until she tripped on the duvet which had fallen on the floor, causing Draco to snigger loudly.

"Ginny? Are you alright dear?" Her mother's voice had gotten frighteningly near to her bedroom door.

"I'm just coming mum, don't come in! I had to get dressed; I've only just got out of bed." She rushed over to her mirror and tried to smooth down her hair.

"What was that noise?"

"I, uh, dropped something." She waited intently for the sound of her mother's footsteps to move away from her door, and sighed in relief when they did.

Draco laid back in bed, scowling to himself. "Great, the last thing I wanted today was a visit from your mother."

Ginny turned to stare at him. "What are you doing? You need to get up!" She walked over and pulled the covers off of him.

"Why exactly?" Draco asked, one eyebrow pointedly raised.

Ginny scowled at him. "Look, you know I haven't told them about us yet. I don't want them to know."

"And why is that?"

"Because, Ron will get all righteous and start trying to tell me what to do, Hermione will start nagging me, and Fred and George will make my life one big joke for the foreseeable future." She walked over to her dresser and picked up Draco's clothes, chucking them at him. "I'm not ready for all that yet."

"Ginny, what's taking so long?"

"Nothing Mum, I'll be out in a minute." She sighed and looked back at Draco, who had started to get dressed. "You know what they're like."

"Why don't you tell them to mind their own business?" he asked, pulling a grey sweater over his head.

Ginny laughed sarcastically. "Yeah, I'll give that a try." She stood up, cupped his face in her hands, and kissed him. "I'm sorry. You can come back here tonight if you like."

"No. I think it's safe to say I never want to stay here again. At least until they know we're dating." Draco smirked. He kissed her again. "But when you do decide to tell them, can you make sure that I'm there? I'd quite like to see the look on Weasel's face."

Ginny glared at him and playfully smacked him. "Go."

Draco stood and picked up his wand. "Just come over the flat when she's left."

Ginny smiled. "Ok."

He winked at her before Disapparating.

Ginny sighed to herself, and walked out of her door to greet her mother who was sitting at the table in the kitchen.

Ginny Apparated into her apartment and collapsed onto the sofa, sighing loudly. Her mother had insisted on going to Diagon Alley together to get a Christmas present for Hermione. She had tried to get out of it, but her mother had played the guilt card by reminding Ginny how rarely she saw the rest of her family.

Considering that she hadn't wanted to go, it had been a rather enjoyable day. They had bought Hermione a brand new set of robes in a deep sapphire blue, as she had been complaining endlessly how the only robes she had were her black, teaching ones. Her mother had also helped Ginny pick something out for Ron, as she had been at a loss for what to buy. They had decided on 'Delia Dungleberry's Advanced Offensive Spells', a manual for a rarer selection of offensive spells that Ginny felt could be useful for him in the field.

It was over their late lunch that Molly Weasley had asked if her daughter was bringing anyone to Christmas dinner. Ginny had seen straight through the seemingly innocent question, knowing that it had been one of Molly's not-so-subtle attempts to ask her if she was dating anyone. Molly had been convinced that the reason Ginny was so downhearted after the war was because she was hung up on Harry, who had recently announced his relationship with Luna. Ginny hadn't had the energy to correct her at the time.

Ginny thought back to the conversation they had, seeing in her mind the surprise that showed up on her mother's face earlier in the day.

"You want to bring who?" Molly's surprise at her daughter's request was clearly etched on her face, as she stopped eating her lunch, her fork dangling in mid-air.

"Draco, Mum."

"Why on earth would you want to bring him?"

"Because he has no one to spend the holiday with, and I don't want him to spend it alone. It's a hard enough time as it is, let alone when you have no one to spend it with."

Molly frowned at her daughter suspiciously, and pursed her lips. She suspected that Ginny had a different reason for inviting Draco, and didn't know whether to raise that question with her daughter. After taking one look at the determination on her daughter's face, she relented, deciding that Ginny would tell her when she was ready, "Alright, he can come, but I don't want him antagonising Ron and Harry."

Ginny scowled at her mother, feeling a mix of elation that she would now be able to spend the holidays with her boyfriend, and deep irritation at the insinuation that Draco would cause trouble.

"Will you also tell them not to antagonise Draco?"

Molly sighed. "Of course, dear."

Ginny smiled to herself, as she recalled the rest of their conversation. She felt relieved that she was now permitted to bring Draco with her on Christmas. It was only a bonus that she would no longer be the only one during the celebration without their special someone.

That is, if Draco agreed to go.

Ginny sighed and ran her hand through her hair. She didn't know how she was going to persuade him to go with her, and she knew it was going to be a challenge. Since their time at Grimmauld, Draco had felt incredibly awkward when with her family; the only member he could ever tolerate was her mother, and only in small doses.

However, she hoped that he would agree to come as he knew the day was important, particularly as her family rarely had to opportunity to spend quality time together. She also knew that Draco was aware she wouldn't miss that day for anyone.

Draco was preparing food for himself and Ginny when he heard her Apparate in. "What took you so long, did your mum hold you hostage?" he asked as he walked to the lounge to greet her.

"Not quite." Ginny smiled at him, slid her hands around his waist and kissed him softly. She then took his hand and led him slowly to the sofa to sit down, turning to face him.

"I spoke to my mother today. I asked her if you could come spend Christmas with us at the Burrow. She said that you were more than welcome. Come with me?" Ginny asked tentatively.

"No way." Draco stared incredulously at Ginny.

Ginny scowled. "Why not?"

"Why would I voluntarily opt to spend Christmas day with a group of people who don't like me?" Draco asked, staring at her as if she were crazy.

"Because it's important to me, I'll be there, and I like you," Ginny answered. "Oh come on, Draco, it's just one day! It won't kill you."

"Yes, it is one day. One WHOLE day that I will have to spend looking at Potter. I think I'd rather see Snape naked."

"Oh so you haven't seen Snape naked yet?" Ginny sighed angrily, and folded her arms. "You know, you really are a child sometimes."

Draco sneered at her. "I'm a child?"

"Yes. You're still living in the past! You're still the same boy that wanted to hex Harry into oblivion every time you saw him, and I for one cannot believe you are incapable of putting aside those childhood rivalries for one day." Ginny scowled at him, her eyes flashing angrily.

"I didn't say I couldn't do it, I said I didn't want to."

"Really?" Ginny smirked. "Prove it."

Draco took one look at her smirk and knew he was being goaded into going to her family's house. Well, if he had to go, he would try to make it interesting. He smirked back at her. "What will I get out of it?"

Ginny frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Well," Draco began, "If I'm going to do this for you, I want to make sure it's worthwhile for me." Draco smirked at Ginny as she turned to look at him, a mischievous look on her face.

"Oh really?" she purred, climbing on to his lap and kissing him softly. "Well, if you do this for me, I promise to make it especially worthwhile."

"I'll hold you to that," Draco replied, pulling her closer and kissing her soundly.

"I hope you do."

"Let's just make one thing clear though, I don't want to have to spend the entire time talking to Potter and Weasel."

"That's fine by me."


End file.
